All Forum Posts by: Kevin B.

will try to make it ! 

Florida can be great, but if you want all four seasons and less oppressive heat in the summer, check out Wilmington or Charleston areas. Lots of retirees, vacationers, beach culture, tourism dollars and of course friendly Carolinians. If you can get in a surrounding town then land is even cheaper..

All very good insight @Sebastian E. Your point about the city possibly limiting STR's to 30 nights a year and potentially sinking my business is a very valid concern, but I feel that worst case scenario i could just rent it out a year at a time. That would reduce the revenue and eliminate the possibility of having it occasionally available for the in-laws, but at least it would be a viable "out" to recoup the initial investment.

For any of you who are experienced with AirBnB, is it a viable strategy to set your rate slightly above market rate and try to market to more business/higher end travelers?  Since the build-out is still in the design phase i can make changes, but was planning to create a higher end space (with finishes/appliances/furnishings, etc) that could justify a slightly higher rate.  That could also reduce the risk of the potential tenants that could disturb neighbors..  and also maybe set the listing apart from all of the dime-a-dozen room-for-rent spaces.  This space will have a W/D, full kitchen and large balcony, not to mention the private entrance and wooded surroundings.  

very interesting idea regarding the LLC, @Rebecca Dillon.  i'll look into that.

As for the HOA, luckily it's an older neighborhood so we don't have one.

Really my biggest reluctance has been around the fact that we are in the burbs, not the center city - but i think AirBnB's still do well out here.  We're still close to shopping, restaurants, airport, uptown - just not actually in uptown.  The flip-side to that however is we have a wooded lot, a firepit and lot's of privacy.. great for a "retreat" experience.

Thanks for the feedback.  I've been looking on AirDNA since i posted this and it seems like useful info for revenue research.

At the end of the day, the rental income will always be somewhat unpredictable i guess until the listing goes live.  I think taking the risk and riding the AirBnB wave it's hot is probably worth the gamble..

where would someone go to find out the AirBnB/STR laws or restrictions in their area?

i'm not sure what the zoning is for my neighborhood but am planning to build an apartment over my garage and AirBnB it until the law changes.  then i'll just long-term lease it 

Looking for feedback on my first real estate deal.  I am planning to build an 800 sqft. loft apartment over my free-standing garage (at my primary residence) and turn it into a short-term rental marketed through AirBnB.  Here's how i see it:

PROS: 

        i can manage this property by simply walking across my driveway, so its very practical.

        even if it rents less than i think it will, i have built additional equity into my home

i can use a HELOC to create leverage and won't need to put out a lot of cash

        Charlotte is a thriving city and other similar Air BnB's listings seem to do really well

CONS:

i don't think i can have an LLC own any part of my primary residence so there is some personal liability

i can't use a traditional first mortgage so the interest rate will be a little higher

since it's tied to the home i want to stay in, i can't really "cash out" 

(i'm sure there are other CONS - please let me know what comes to mind, BP!)

I'm hoping that, using conservative estimates, the revenue will be sufficient to cover 30-50% of my primary mortgage.  This seems like a pretty decent househack on a $500k+ property.  My concern though is this:  I think i can pretty closely pin down my expenses for this build and maintenance, but i'm not sure how to accurately predict revenue.  Isn't there some resource through AirBnB that helps with these estimates?  Again, any feedback (positive or constructive) is greatly appreciated!